Hundreds turn out to view eclipse at Scituate Town Library

Ruth Thompson rthompson@wickedlocal.com @scituateruth

Monday

Aug 21, 2017 at 7:52 PMAug 21, 2017 at 7:52 PM

They came with picnic blankets, lawn chairs, and homemade viewing boxes. From toddlers to teens, parents and grandparents, they filled the patio and the Community Room at the Scituate Town Library; many spilling out onto the grass or finding some shade beneath the leafy branches of the trees.

They were there to witness the solar eclipse, and for the chance to see the eclipse – which took place Monday, Aug. 21 - through the special telescopes of the South Shore Astronomical Society, which brought the telescopes to the library, along with other educational and informative eclipse items.

“I love to share my knowledge of astronomy, especially with children,” said George Roberts, a 10-year board member of the astronomical society. “We’re fortunate to have excellent weather.”

Roberts brought along various methods of safety viewing the eclipse. Looking directly at an eclipse can cause serious eye damage, he said.

“There are ways of projecting the image of the eclipse onto another surface,” said Roberts.

Roberts set up different demonstrations of how the eclipse could be projected onto other surfaces. This included a pin-hole in a paper plate and then holding against a larger paper plate. Large cardboard tubes and index cards were also used.

“This is a rare eclipse because it’s transitioning the entire contiguous United States, the first time in 100 years,” he said.

The Scituate Town Library viewing event had been much anticipated.

Days before the eclipse, the phones at the library were ringing off the hook, according to the library’s youth services assistant, Sue D’Arcangelo.

“I have been inundated with emails from folks planning to attend, so this looks like it will be a big deal,” she said prior to the day of the eclipse.

She pointed out the South Shore Astronomical Society has telescopes out at Scituate Light every Friday night for viewing the stars, and it is the same group that supplied the library with the new telescope that will be circulating for patrons.

“I love that the South Shore Astronomical Society has been providing free services to so many people and increasing science literacy,” she said.

There were refreshments and plenty of activities for kids in the library’s Community Room while waiting for the eclipse.

Linda Daly of Duxbury brought her two grandsons, Paxton, 7, and Wesley, 5, of Kingston, so they could see the eclipse with the special telescopes.

“We read about the telescope,” she said. “How often does something like this happen?”

It was a family affair for Claire Banks from South Boston, who is spending her summer in Scituate. Banks brought her children, her nieces and nephews, and some of their friends to the library for the eclipse.

“It’s nice for them to see something that only happens so often and to be able to share that with their cousins,” she said.

The kids’ grandmother, Pat Paglierani, a Scituate resident and former teacher, wanted them to have the “full experience” of seeing the eclipse with the special telescope.

“I think it’s going to be great,” she said. “We come a lot to the library, they have so many things to do and it’s all free. When you have 10 grandchildren it makes a lot of sense.”

Reese Hamilton, age 9, is from South Boston but her family spends their summers in Marshfield. She said she was “really excited” to see the eclipse.

“I think it will be really fun,” she said.

It wasn’t just the kids who were eagerly anticipating the eclipse.

Richard Seeg, a member of the South Shore Astronomical Society, had a small audience as he was perfecting his pin-hole camera.

“I’m the pin-hole guy,” he said. “And I’m really excited about all the people coming here and looking at the eclipse through the solar telescope and asking questions. And I hope they ‘keep looking up.’ That’s our motto.”

Scituate resident Nancy Harris said she was looking forward to viewing the eclipse through the South Shore Astronomical Society telescopes.

“I ordered some special glasses online to be able to look at the eclipse,” she said. “They are on the NASA approved list. They work really well.”

She recalled watching an eclipse as a kid using a small box with a hole in it.

“My whole class did,” she said.

Harris has always had an interest in astronomy, she said, and plans to join the South Shore Astronomical Society.

People lined up early for a glimpse of the eclipse through one of two telescopes the South Shore Astronomical Society brought. The line stretched across the patio, up onto the lawn, and into the parking area. Astronomical society members were at the telescopes to answer questions and make adjustments for ideal viewing.

Kimberly Hartgraves of Scituate wanted to capture the experience and took a photo looking through the telescope lens.

“The image came out good,” she said. “I saw a lot of other people doing it.”

Words such as “wow,” “awesome,” “amazing,” “great,” and “really cool,” were used a lot by people stepping away from the telescopes after their view of the eclipse.

After her look through the telescope, Kelsi Henning, 8, of Hingham, said what she saw was “kinda white.”

“Gray and white, and it looked like a crescent moon,” she said.

Roberts thought it was great to have an event that brought so many people together.

“Most of the things we do are in the evening, so it’s nice to come out like this in the daytime.”

For information on the library and upcoming events visit www.scituatetownlibrary.org/.

For information on the South Shore Astronomical Society visit https://ssastros.org/